When A Stranger Calls -- 2006 -- PG-13

This is based on an urban legend that always freaks me out. A girl is babysitting and she gets calls on the house phone threatening her, and asking if she has checked on the children. She finally calls the cops and they trace the call. They call back and tell her to get out because the call is coming from inside the house on the house's second line. She runs upstairs to find the children dead and she makes a daring escape. Now, this is Hollywood, and you can't kill children, so let's have a look at how this legend translated.

The parts of the film that played the legend worked fairly well. It generated a real feeling of creepiness as the calls played out, and the final call from the police relating that the calls are coming from inside the house was well placed, though it took awhile to get there. The whereabouts of the stranger were completely secret and we had no idea where he was or if he would spring out at some point, so that worked.

And that was the short list of what worked in this movie. Kick off your shoes and pop the popcorn because what didn't work goes on for awhile. By the numbers:

1. This girl is to babysit to work off going over her minutes at a super secluded mega house with a housekeeper...who was apparently unable or unwilling to babysit even though she lives there.

2. The alarm went off early in the film, but even though the housekeeper is no where to be found, she blows off the police. Ok.

3. Her friend enters through an open garage door without setting off the alarm. She still doesn't call the police even though that clearly points to what set off the alarm.

4. Her friend is somehow whacked outside the house...when the stranger is supposed inside already.

5. At one point, the Caller ID showed her friend's cell phone number calling, but when she answered, it was the stranger. She still didn't call the police.

6. She freely wanders the house looking for trouble when she feels like she is in danger. Wouldn't staying in one place be better?

7. Will someone please show this girl where the light switches are?

8. We've established the danger. She's scared. She's got the police coming to keep her company. What does she do when she notices someone in the guesthouse (who is supposed to be their son who never announces when he's coming home)? She calls the guesthouse and leaves a detailed message about everything she is doing.

9. But wait! In the worst move in the entire film, she LEAVES THE HOUSE and runs to this guesthouse to check out who is there. She doesn't know this son character. Maybe he's the freak. Then the stranger calls the unlisted number of the guesthouse. Hm, where could he have found this number? On the fridge, maybe? Then she runs right back to the house again.

10. This film had no character development. It gave us just enough of everyone to tell the story, but nothing to really connect to. It had a slew of different characters, most of which went unused. Even the people she was working for and her best friend were as good as extras in this one.

11. It had this whole bit where she got a popsickle out of the freezer and she failed to eat it, so she threw it away. What was the point of that series of scenes?

So we've got a lot of flaws here. Tons of stuff that happened for the sake of attempting some scariness, but it was so contrived, that all fear was offset by laughing at the film. It had a good premise, but some desperately poor execution.